Chapter 1

Gazing intently into the mirror, Zina studied her appearance. She looked a mess. Her auburn hair was in tangles and knots and was sticking up in random directions. Noticing her bloodshot eyes, Zina scowled at herself but then cringed, deciding that the facial expression made her look even worse.

She'd just gotten off of a long flight and had had barely any sleep. On her right side, her little sister had been snoring as loud as a stampede of elephants and on her left side her mum had been singing along to the classical and old music blasting into her eardrums.

Painfully tugging her hairbrush through her locks of hair, Zina gasped but was determined to make an effort.

Zina didn't want to move but her mum had insisted. France had been her home since she was a little girl and she wasn't sure she could cope with a different scenery. She'd end up getting lost and probably even panic every morning; thinking she'd been kidnapped or something ridiculous like that.

Zina's mum told both Zina and her little sister, Kerry, repetitive times that it would be a fresh start for all three of them and nobody would be able to find them. Surely that had a double meaning but Zina didn't want to pry or push her for answers because it would most probably consequent on getting on her nerves.

Zina's father had left at a young age. Just abandoned them with no explanation. As far as Zina knew, things with her mum and dad had been fine before he left randomly. Her mum liked to think something bad had happened to him because then she didn't have to face the fact that he could have possibly left her voluntarily.

They'd moved from Paris to sunny San Francisco where the sea water's crystal clear and almost beckoning and hypnotizing. Some people were friendly; some not so friendly. Zina hadn't really met anybody particularly unpleasant so far but a new school was just around the corner (tomorrow to be precise) and she was positive she'd meet stuck up, unpleasant cheerleaders and arrogant jocks.

Moving from Paris hadn't been so heartbreaking for Zina because she only had a few trusted friends who she wasn't really close to; they'd just put up with each other for the sake of school life.

However, her seven year old sister had thrown a tantrum because she had tons of friends and she had a boyfriend she apparently 'loved'. Zina could've made fun of her about claiming to love someone at such a young age but decided against it. Her mum wouldn't approve and would probably scream at Zina.

Zina had a great bond with her mum but, as much as she hated to admit it, her mum was closer to Kerry. They got on like two peas in a pod and Kerry made mum act like a small child all over again.

Zina preferred her new room to the one in France anyway. In France it had had dull, grey walls and a maroon carpet. However, her new room had Union Jack wallpaper, laminate flooring and blue curtains with a chandelier hanging in the middle of the ceiling.

"Zina!" Mum shouted from downstairs.

Taking one last glance at the boxes labelled 'clothes', 'stuff' and 'memories', Zina stormed out of her new room and sauntered down the stairs.

"You called.?"

"Yes. Could you take these next door?" Sophie, Zina's mother, asked her with a plate full of homemade cookies in her hands with cling foil over them to keep them fresh.

"Uh... Mum, I thought it was the other way around?"

"What was?" Sophie asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Aren't the neighbours supposed to bring a treat to the newcomer on block?"

Sophie shrugged. "Oh well. Maybe we'll give a good first impression. Who knows."